the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jun 19, 2017
The poisoning of the Flint, Michigan water system made national news again on June 14. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette brought felony charges against five top public officials in a Legionnaires’ disease death traced back to the Flint Water Crisis.
The head of Michigan’s Dept. of Health and Human Services was charged with involuntary manslaughter for knowing about the Legionnaires’ disease problem for a year before alerting the public. In all, 12 deaths and 79 illnesses resulted from the outbreak.
In Michigan, 15 officials face 51 charges related to the water crisis. No one has been convicted.
Every time someone new faces legal charges, politicians of both parties parade before the cameras saying, "The system works."
But the system doesn’t work if the goal is safe, clean water. Court cases do not stop business as usual in capitalist society.
The water coming out of many taps in Flint, Michigan still smells bad and is discolored. And the water coming out of taps all over the United States has problems. According to an investigation by USA Today, excessive lead levels exist in all 50 states and four million Americans may drink toxic water.
Flint is a symptom of a larger problem. The U.S. water system infrastructure needs massive public spending. Bringing legal charges against a few public officials in Michigan is a side-show. It’s a show that costs a lot less money than taking on the profit-driven system that is destroying water systems all over the U.S.